Stringed musical instrument



April 12, 1949. H. HISE ETAL 2,467,086

'STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed Nov. 12, 1946 Patented Apr. 12, 1949STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Herbert Hise, Chicago, and John B.Cousineau, Forest Park, Ill.

Application November 12, 1946, Serial No. 709,382

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to stringed musical instruments and moreparticularly to guitar type instruments to be played with a steelmovable along the strings to change the efiective length. Steel guitarsof the type used with electrical amplification comprise a plurality ofstrings which are played by moving a steel along their length inengagement with all of the strings which the cord tuning of the stringscan be easily and quickly changed during play.

Another object is to provide a stringed musical instrument in which thestring tension can be selectively and temporarily varied to vary thecord tuning.

Still another object is to provide a stringed musical instrument inwhich the cord tune can be temporarily changed by pressing the desiredone of a plurality of foot pedals on the instrument.

A further object is to provide a stringed musical instrument in whichthe friction between the strings and the bridge members is minimized sothat the tension of the strings can be changed uniformly and with aminimum of effort to vary their tuning.

The above and other objects and advantages of the-invention will be morereadily apparent from the following description when read in connectionwith the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure l is a perspective viewof a stringed instrument of the guitar type embodying the in vention;

Figure 2 is a top view, with parts in section, of the string tensionchanging mechanism; and.

Figure 3 is a partial side view of the tension changing mechanism withparts in section.

The instrument, as illustrated, comprises an ellongated support l0which, as shown, is generally rectangular and is in the form of a hollowbox to provide a resonant chamber. Preferably, the support is formedwith an opening ll spaced from one end across which the strings mayextend so that the resonant characteristics of the support will be fullyeffective. A plurality of parallel strings l2 extend lengthwise of thesupport and are fastened at their opposite ends to a connecting bar [3and to adjustable pins M by which the tension of the strings can beinitially adjusted. Adjacent the pins M, the strings extend over a fixedbridge member [5 to hold them spaced from the support in the usualmanner. If desired, a f-ret board l6 may underlie the strings throughoutat least a portion of the length.

At a point spaced from the fastening bar it, the strings extend over asecond bridge member which forms a part of a string tension varyingassembly indicated generally at ll. As shown.

A the assembly ll comprises a pair of side plates [8 extendingvertically upward from the support and carrying a cover plate 19 whichextends over the tops of the side plates leaving an opening in thefront. A shaft 2| is carried between the side plates adjacent the frontthereof and rotatably supports a plurality of rollers 22. The rollersare equal in number to the strings and each roller engages and supportsone of the strings so that when the string tension is varied, therollers can turn freely on the shaft. This construction minimizes thefriction between the strings and the bridge member so that the stringtension can be varied easily and uniformly.

In order to vary the string tension during play i of the instrument, aplurality of shafts 23' are rotatably mounted between the side plates l8at points spaced between the anchor bar 13 and the bridge member. Eachof the shafts has mounted thereon one or more finger members 24 whichextend laterally from the shafts to engage selected ones of the stringsso that as the shafts are turned, the strings engaged by the fingermembers will be deflected laterally to vary their tension. fingermembers on the different shafts may engage different string combinationsso that move ment of any one of the shafts will vary the tension ofcertain of the strings to change the string tuning toa desired extent.Preferably, the finger members are mounted on the shafts for both axialand rotatable adjustment so that the strings to be effected by therespective shafts can easily be changed, and, further, so that thechange in tension of each selected string can be adjusted to any desiredamount.

For certain cord changes, it may be desired to increase the tension ofone or more strings, while for others, the tension of selected stringsshould be decreased. This can be accomplished, according to theinvention, by having certain of As seen in Figure 2, the

the fingers extend in one direction from the shafts, while others extendin the opposite direction. Since the shafts are all turned in the samedirection, as described hereinafter, the first-named fingers mayincrease the string tension, while the second-named fingers will releasethe strings to reduce their tension. In this manner, substantially anydesired tuning combinations can be obtained so that an instrumentinitially tuned, for example to a major cord, can be easily retuned toplay a minor, a seventh, an augmented cord, or any other desired cordtuning.

In use, the support is carried by a flange which holds the support in ahorizontal position above the floor at a convenient height for playing.As shown, the frame comprises a rectangular base 25 which maconveniently be formed of pipe or the like and which has two uprights 26at its opposite ends. The uprights may be conveniently fitted removablyinto sockets at their base at their lower ends, and at their upper endsmay fit into similar sockets in the support so that the entire assemblycan easily be taken down for transportation or storage.

The string tension and consequently the tuning of the instrument mayconveniently be controlled by a series of foot pedals 21 pivoted on thebase 25 and spaced so that an operator can conveniently depress aselected one or more of the pedals. The pedals are adapted to beconnected by rods or wires 28 to levers 29 secured to the shafts 23 andlying adjacent the outer surface of one of the side plates 18. The rodsor wires 28 may extend through a slot 31 in the support and arepreferably connected to the levers 29 and pedals 27 by hooks at theirend portions so that they can easily be removed for dismantling theinstrument. The pedals may be urged upward by springs or the like, notshown, so that in the normal position of the instrument, the fingers 24which normally depress the strings will be held down and will be movedup to release the strings when the corresponding pedal is depressed.

In use of the instrument, play is accomplished in the usual manner bymovin a steel 32 along the strings to change their effective length butwithout changing their relative tuning. Thus, if the strings areinitially tuned to a major cord, they will play a major cord in allpositions of the steel although the pitch of the cord will be altered.To change a cord at any time during play, for example to a minor or a,seventh, the selected one of the pedals 21 may be depressed to changethe tension of the desired one or more of the strings. The instrumentwill then produce the modified cord in all positions of the steel whenall of the strings are played. It will be apparent that various cordcombinations can be produced by simultaneously depressing two or more ofthe pedals so that an extremely flexible instrument is provided with arelatively small number of been shown and described in detail, it willbe understood that it is illustrative only and is not intended to be adefinition of the scope of the invention, reference being had for thispurpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A stringed musical instrument comprising an elongated support, bridgemembers spaced lengthwise of the support, strings extending over thebridge members and fastened to the support beyond the bridge members, arotatable shaft extending across the strings at a point between one ofthe bridge members and the adjacent points of connection of the stringsto the support, means to turn the shaft, and a, finger adjustablymounted on the shaft to engage one of the strings to vary its tension asthe shaft is turned.

2. A stringed musical instrument comprising an elongated support, aframe to rest on a floor and to carry the support in a horizontalposition above the floor, bridge members spaced lengthwise of thesupport, strings extendin over the bridge members and fastened to thesupport beyond the bridge members, a plurality of parallel shaftsextending across the strings between one of the bridge members, and theadjacent points of connection of the strings to the support, fingersa-djustably mounted on the shafts engaging certain of the strings tovary their tension as the shafts are turned, a plurality of pedalspivoted on the frame, and connections between the shafts and pedalsrespectively to turn the shafts when the pedals are depressed.

3. A stringed musical instrument comprising an elongated support, aframe to rest on a floor and to carry the support in a horizontalposition above the floor, bridge members spaced lengthwise of thesupport, strings extending over the bridge members and fastened to thesupport beyond the bridge members, a plurality of parallel shaftsextending across the strings between one of the bridge members, and theadjacent points of connection of the strings to the support, fingersmounted on the shafts for axial and rotatable adjustment thereon toengage certain selected ones of the stringsand vary their tension as theshafts are turned, and means selectively to turn the shafts.

" HERBERT HISE.

JOHN B. COUSINEAU.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,809,710 Kaufman et al June 9,1931 1,924,854 Harmon Aug. 29, 1933 2,234,874 Moore Mar. 11, 19412,235,717 Naffei et a1 Mar. 18, 1941 2,235,718 Naifei et al Mar. 18,1941 2,257,995 Abrams et a1 Oct. 7, 1941

